CantaloupeAlone

Its been a solid month since I've picked up my share due to vacation! I missed my vegetables, and when I returned the predictable cucumber, pepper, tomato, onion, kale, melon, and corn (would you believe its the first corn of the season for me?) combo were still waiting for me. Broccoli is here now too, a hint that cool weather is on its way, and different set of vegetables are growing. Ditmas Park CSA Week 12 7 large tomatoes 3 cucumbers 3 small zucchini 1 red onion 1 white onion 1 bunch kale 1 egg plant 1 bag wax beans 1 head broccoli 1 watermelon 2 peppers 4 ears of corn 6 eggs

After several above average weeks, I am happy to see a normal variety of food in normal amounts. Not that I don't love a challenge, and I have proudly seen very little go to waste. I am overjoyed to get a cantaloupe. This blog, so called Cantaloupe Alone, attracts lots of google searches for preposterous cantaloupe recipes. I often find "cantaloupe cookies," "(hot?)cantaloupe (rind?)pickles," "baked cantaloupe," "cantaloupe butter," and "cantaloupe broth." Search terms that have never ever crossed my mind as food I would ever eat. I was thinking in honor of these die hard searchers who are continually finding and probably being disappointed by my blog's lack of cantaloupe cookie recipes I would figure out some new cantaloupe recipes. Meta inspiration. But back to my CSA for right now. Ditmas Park CSA Week 8 10 medium and small tomatoes 2 onions 2 heads of garlic 1 bunch of basil 2 eggplants 1 bunch of kale 5 medium/small c...

Softened and flavored cabbage = dang good slaw Raw cabbage is fibrous (sometimes tough) and watery. Those two conditions add up to a crunchy food. Crunchy is fine in small amounts, but just try to chew and crunch your way through a 4 pound head of cabbage in a week. You will end up with a sore jaw, and maybe a headache. There are two ways to address this issue. 1) Use heat to soften/cook the cabbage. Using the stove is fully off limits. It's been over 95 degrees in my kitchen this summer. 2) Cut/grate/process the cabbage into bitty pieces. That's slaw for you folks! I swear by Bittman's recipe/technique of salting the cabbage to draw some of the water out, which further softens the cabbage. Once salted and squeezed of natural moisture the cabbage sucks up flavorful dressing. Let me be clear: the cabbage still has a little crunch, but has been humbled by the salting. Ooh that coleslaw is the perfect thing for topping burgers, tacos, sandwiches, and complements anyth...

Big stuff in week 6 from the Ditmas Park CSA It's the week of the callaloo bigger than a raccoon/medium sized dog. Callaloo bigger than a small child. Callaloo big enough to curl up in bed with, not like it's gonna keep you warm. This bunch of callaloo is so big I tell you it takes up the entire bottom shelf of my fridge hiding the tupperware containers in a forest of leaves. Not to mention a large head of cabbage, that's also pretty big. Ditmas Park CSA Week 6 1 enormous head of callaloo 1 bunch of basil 1 head of cabbage 1 red onion 1 white onion 2 cucumbers 2 zucchinis 2 heas of garlic 1 yellow squash 1 bag of yellow wax beans 8 medium tomatoes 11 red sweet peppers 6 eggs

No one will see it coming, but this is killer ginger beer Summer has been a whirl wind of picnics, barbecues, road trips, and questionable luck. The combination is keeping me out of my kitchen. I am repeating an old summer time favorite recipe, Thurston's Ginger Beer . I am also demanding you make this recipe. It is easy. It is cheap. It was given to me on a boat by a Jamaican Guyanese friend, and I have never seen anything like it online. It have served it every which way with soda, rum, vodka, lime to all matter of thirsty chefs and mixologists . Everyone loves it. Its is authentic, and nothing in a bottle can come close to this ginger beer recipe. Thinking I'm bragging? Try it yourself. Thurston's Ginger Beer 2 quarts water (1/2 cup reserved) 1 large ginger root peeled (Thurston indicated that the piece be the size of a man's 4 fingers and palm) 1/2 cup rice 1 pinch salt 1/2 cup turbinado or raw sugar 1 quart seltzer water ice lemon/lime slices to garnish Heat all...

13 varieties of vegetables, we are so spoiled If I dropped my fridge down horizontally on the floor, removed the door I could literally bath in vegetables. I went on a trip for Independence day that turned into am mega road trip to the South extending well past Tuesday's pick-up. This week's Ditmas Park CSA haul was picked up by the crazy awesome Sarah Friedland . I didn't get my veggies until Thursday night after resolving to take a cab to pick it up. I barely caught the last light of the day to snap a quick photo before I inhaled most of the beets, greens, a salad made with kale, cukes, basil, green onion (previous week), and half a head of lettuce. I hadn't tasted a fresh vegetable on my trip, and it was time to bath my stomach in crisp cool vegetables. Peek a little closer at those hard veggies Ditmas Park CSA Week 4 2 heads of lettuce 1 bunch collards 1 bunch basil 6 beets with greens 1 green pepper 6 medium red potatoes 2 long red hot peppers 3 cucumbers 1 large ...

Howdayado Callaloo Soup Big bunches of callaloo have been inhabiting my vegetable drawer, a large part of my Ditmas Park CSA . I vaguely know what to do with callaloo . Stew, soup, steam? It's like spinach, with a little bit more iron, and perhaps a less tender. Callaloo has a pleasant mineral taste that really mellows in a soup. I'm happy it's here before it's too hot to cook it down in a soup. Make sure to rinse it plenty of times to remove the grit that may be on it. Nothing worse than dirty grit callaloo stew. Almost like spinach, but healthier Callaloo Coconut Soup 1 large bunch callaloo (roughly 1 lb) 1 large onion, diced 2 tblsp vegetable oil 6 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 quart water 1 can coconut milk (unsweetened) 1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg 1 pinch red pepper 1 tblsp white wine vinegar salt to taste Separate leaves from callaloo stems. Rinse each individually in a large clear bowl. Rinse callaloo until water is clear to make sure all the grit is ...